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NPS & DED resistant Elms

(29 posts)
  • Started 2 years ago by CuriousResident
  • Latest reply from CuriousResident
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  1. CuriousResident
    Member

    The following comments are not to belittle JohnM's 'research'...I agree the discrepancies need to be resolved.

    That being said, I thought the variance/looseness in language has long been common knowledge...I think it was even mentioned in the videoed of the board meeting.

    We have lived with the discontinuity for decades, why does it now need to be fixed before we do anything?

    There is no official Olmsted planting plan.
    There is no official Olmsted decree of "only these plants".
    Our NHL status is not in jeopardy because of this discontinuity, nor from planting cultivars.

    This is much ado about nothing and we will spin our wheels (for a long time) trying to agree upon hard rules that only a small portion of people will likely be happy with.

    I believe we need to stay away from extremes...for instance, don't plant Japanese maples all over the village...and don't require everything planted to be grown from the seed of trees within our micro-culture...and don't wait until everything is agreed upon before we do anything.

    We have lost the majority of our high canopy that made the village feel the way Olmsted intended. I'm not pretending to channel Olmsted here...Elms and the feel of the canopy was a part of the design principles.

    We can either abandon that or try to restore it with the options that are available to us.

    /

    Posted Tuesday Sep 15, 2009 14:27 #

  2. JohnM
    Member

    No worries--I don't feel belittled at all. I'm in agreement with your points.

    The reason I'm so hung up on the language of the law is twofold. First, it took me quite some time to figure out what people were talking about when they referred to an "offical" or "approved" list. The terms are used interchangably, some people refer to the LAC book, others to the Code. I was surprised how this confusion has actually worked its way into the Code as well.

    More importantly (and I should have fleshed this out in my earlier post) I am concerned that the vagueness of the language is being used to cover a multitude of sins. As you note--and I don't think this can be stressed enough--there is no offical Olmsted planting plan. Olmsted never decreed that we shall plant these plants and these plants only. What I see happening is that a certain group of Board members and commission members, supported by a small but vocal group of citizens, are seeking to impose what they believe to be the "true" Olmsted vision on the Village, and are using the looseness of the language in the Code to do so, or at least using the language as justification.

    I'd like to see this loophole closed. I don't believe it is appropriate to turn down a donation based upon a law that may be unconstitutionally vague. I'd also like to see the LAC take on the list of acceptable plantings. Frankly, I'd like to see them open the list up to anything that is not invasive, disease-prone or dangerous (within reason--I wouldn't want to see any cacti in the CBD, although I suppose they would thrive).

    Posted Tuesday Sep 15, 2009 15:16 #

  3. EricSundstrom
    Member

    JohnM... actually there was a cactus plant in a village planter many years ago. Near town hall and as the story was told to me, it was removed when some youngster wiped out on his bicycle and wound up on the aforementioned cactus. Re the LAC. As commissioners on that board come to the end of their term you can expect them to be replaced mainly with Olmstead society members as was the case with the new chairman and two newly appointed commissioners.imo.

    Posted Tuesday Sep 15, 2009 15:44 #

  4. Tim
    Member

    That may be very useful. When the dust settles, we will need an LAC that is capable of creating an expanded list that can incorporate more sustainable tree plantings, including the use of cultivars.

    From my understanding, previous reluctance to endorse cultivars stemmed from concern over durability of grafted tree stock and the variance of certain strains from the more native plants. The few things posted here and additional information that I've gathered suggests that some of the newer trees developed are passing the durability test and the finished product is very close to the native original (ie Valley Forge Elm).

    Integrating the knowledge of our forester and resources from the Arboretum along with the breadth of knowledge of the Olmsted landscape possessed by members of our community should be the goal of our LAC moving forward with an updated plan for strengthening our tree stock. I would suggest setting a goal to identify at least three cultivar tree varieties that combine both strong resistance to disease and pestilence with aesthetic qualities that fit the Olmsted landscape.

    Back it up with data and put it into action. Maybe even Messrs. Sacchi and Campbell can put the hard feelings aside and agree on something that will benefit us all.

    Posted Tuesday Sep 15, 2009 16:22 #

  5. Fred
    Member

    The "list" certainly does seem to shift. You are right about the Cacti vs. little kid on the bike, I saw it. Cacti were defended as "native" by the last forester as there are dune lines running through the Village from Lake Calumet (formed by melts from the last ice age). Cacti from dunes in Michigan were transplanted in this brilliant effort. I agree with your assessment on the future of the LAC. You really gotta learn to spell olmsted.

    Posted Tuesday Sep 15, 2009 16:23 #

  6. commonsense
    Member

    Half the plantings in the CDB have one leaf in the grave. If Kunka and Co won't stand for Accolade Elms, the brightly colored flowers are soon to go, along with the poor hostas on the parkways.

    Posted Tuesday Sep 15, 2009 17:23 #

  7. CuriousResident
    Member

    Some elm info for anyone that has the time to do something with it...

    Comparison of the Available American Elm Cultivars

    prospective sources for DED-tolerant American elm varieties are listed probably in their entirety or nearly so, as follows:

    Phytotektor, Inc., Huntland, TN. (This wholesaler went out of business in 2007, but please note that
    they had been the original source of the Valley Forge elms from which I am propagating.)

    Sylvan Nursery, 1028 Horseneck Rd., Westport, MA 02790; 508-636-4573. Wholesale.

    J. Frank Schmidt and Son Co., P.O. Box 189, Boring, OR 97009; 503-663-4128. Wholesale.

    Ammon Nursery, 6089 Camp Ernst Rd., Burlington, KY 41005; 859-586-6246. Wholesale.

    Klyn Nurseries, P.O. Box 343, Perry, OH 44081; 440-259-3811. Wholesale.

    Angelica Nurseries, 11129 Locust Grove Rd., Kennedyville, MD 21645; 410-928-3111. Wholesale.

    Millican Nurseries, 187 Pleasant St., Chichester, NH 03258; 603-435-6660. Wholesale.

    Cavicchio Nursery, 110 Codjer Lane, Sudbury, MA 01776; 978-443-7177. Wholesale.

    Bold Spring Nursery, Route 4 Box 11660, Hawkinsville, GA 31036; 478-783-4975. Wholesale.

    JLPN, Inc., 1118 Lancaster Drive NE #409, Salem, OR 97301; 503-373-9781. Wholesale.

    L.E. Cooke Co., 26333 Road 140, Visalia, CA 93292; 559-732-9146. Wholesale.

    Bigelow Nurseries, P.O. Box 718, 455 West Main St., Northboro, MA 01532; 508-845-2143. Wholesale and retail.

    Northeast Nursery, 234 Newbury Street, Peabody, MA 01960; 978-535-6550. Wholesale and retail.

    Botany Shop Garden Center, 710 Minnesota Ave., Joplin, MO 64801; 417-781-6431. Retail.

    Speer and Sons Nursery, 18546 Arbor Grove Rd., Woodburn, OR 97071; 503-981-7544. Retail.

    Arborvillage Farm, P.O. Box 227, Holt, MO 64048; 816-264-3911. Retail.

    Greenrange Elm Project, 905 Sawyer-Needham Rd., Whiting, VT 05778; 802-623-8603. Retail.

    Sunshine Nurseries, Route 1 Box 4030, Clinton, OK 73601; 580-323-6259. Retail; trees may be grafted.

    Dart's Tree Farm, 2355 Main Bayview Road, Southold, NY 11971; (631) 765-4148. Retail.

    Riveredge Farms, P.O. Box 13169, Atlanta, GA 30324; 888-680-1922. Retail; specialist in Princeton elms.

    Elm Research Institute, 11 Kit St., Keene, NH 03431; 603-358-6198. (Liberty elms only.)

    Princeton elms

    Princeton American elms were unanimously selected by representatives of the National Park service to line the three blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House in Washington, DC. The elm trees were planted in Spring of 2005 by the Federal Highway Administration for this historic reconstruction of America's Main Street.

    Q: Are these elms grown from seed?

    A: No. Our Princeton elms are grown from cuttings off of trees descended from the original Princeton elm first selected in 1920 for its classic American elm attributes. They are produced on their own root. Elms grown from seed would not reliably exhibit these classic attributes nor have the high tolerance to Dutch Elm Disease, which makes the Princeton elm so remarkable.

    Posted Tuesday Sep 15, 2009 22:57 #

  8. CuriousResident
    Member

    More...

    An article from the United States Department of Agricultural - Agricultural Research Service Dutch Elm Disease Update was published in the June 2006 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

    In 2005, the newest American elm—named “ Jefferson”—was released jointly by ARS and the National Park Service (NPS), after collaborative screening tests by Townsend and NPS plant pathologist James L. Sherald showed it to have an outstanding level of DED tolerance. It was cloned in 1993 from the original tree, a survivor of about 600 elms planted on the National Mall in Southwest Washington in the 1930s. Jefferson was thought to be a hybrid elm until DNA tests performed at the arboretum proved it to be a true American elm—Ulmus americana—a relief to purists.

    Note: Regarding the cultivar comment by Tim

    From my understanding, previous reluctance to endorse cultivars stemmed from concern over durability of grafted tree stock and the variance of certain strains from the more native plants.

    All of the Ulmus americana culitvars listed (so far) in this thread are grown by cuttings (not grafting) and have their own root system.

    Posted Wednesday Sep 16, 2009 13:55 #

  9. Tim
    Member

    Princeton Elms are now available in Illinois:

    http://www.owennursery.com/

    Posted Wednesday Sep 16, 2009 14:09 #

  10. PAR4
    Member

    Does anybody know if the LAC gets new tree species added to 'the list' does that move need to be approved by the Board (which it wouldn't) or are those trees automatically accepted?

    Posted Friday Sep 18, 2009 14:36 #

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